Merging MS Money files
Back when my wife and I got engaged, I setup a new MS Money file to track all her financial accounts, just like I do with mine. I wanted to get everything of hers in one place and build up so history so that we could merge our MS Money files together when it was time.
Well its time. We got married this month and we have been slowly merging our finances over the last six months. My fiancee and I opened a joint savings account, I added her as a cardholder on my credit card, and I have begun to pay some of her bills out of my accounts.
More psychological than anything, I decided it was time to merge our MS Money files so we had all of our assets and liabilities on 1 balance sheet as I am planning on presenting a single net worth status for October.
One night when I was wide awake and still adjusting to the time change, I bit the bullet and tried to merge the MS Money files. However, merging 2 MS Money files is not a straight forward event. To merge the files you basically need to export each account from one files (one by one), then import those accounts (one by one) into your other existing MS Money file. Worse however was trying to merge my wife's mortgage. MS Money wouldn't let me export the mortgage and import it. After a few hours of trying I gave up and completely resetup the mortgage in my existing MS money file.
In the end I would say it wasn't worth the hassle except for straight forward accounts with alot of history you want to preserve. If you are looking to merge MS money files, I would selectively export those easy accounts (like checking, savings, and credit cards) and then setup investments, mortgages, etc from scratch.
Related in Money And Relationships:
Smart Couples: Dreams Basket (Jan 18, 2008) My wife and I recently resumed reading Smart Couples Finish Rich. The book helped us discuss our different values, sync on our current retirement savings plan, and start talking about our insurance needs. The last section in the book...
Smart Couples: Security Basket (Jan 17, 2008) My wife and I recently resumed reading Smart Couples Finish Rich. The book helped us discuss our different values, and sync on our current retirement savings plan. The next section in the book was focused on security including emergencies,...
Managing Cash Flow (Jan 02, 2008) Wow -- I am still amazed at how complex managing personal finances gets once you get married. It's like that corporate project that gets extra headcount to speed things up, but yet everything slows down because more communication, more interlock...
Comments (2)
So there is a good chance you will be a millionaire in the next net worth update.
Posted by Rob | October 31, 2007 6:54 PM
I wish.
Posted by 2million | November 2, 2007 3:22 AM